canada

ryan rainville appeared before court on tuesday, october 26 and had his hearing held over until november 4th. in the interim, his supporters in ontario are making an urgent call for funds. any donations can be sent to:

No One Is Illegal-Toronto
90C Beverley Street
Toronto ON M5T 1Y1

please put "Ryan Rainville" in the memo portion of your cheque! even faster is paypal. just click on the 'donate' link on the no one is illegal website front page. if you donate via paypal, please send an email to no one is illegal at nooneisillegal@riseup.net indicating that you donated for ryan's defence fund.

here's the release from ryan's support committee:

Tuesday October 26, Mississauga New Credit – Today on Tuesday October 26, Ryan Rainville appeared in an Ontario Superior Court to argue for his release on bail. The Judge adjourned the application for Ryan to be released to a First Nations Bail Program citing ‘inadequate supervision’. In considering Ryan’s bail application, the judge also did not take into account Gladue factors, which forces the judicial system to consider the systemic marginalization and over-incarceration of Indigenous people as result of colonialism and poverty.

Ryan is a young Indigenous man from the Sakimay Nation and is charged with several unfounded charges stemming from June demonstrations against the G20 in Toronto. Ryan has been imprisoned since August 5 when he was arrested at his home in Waterloo, and has since been denied bail once before in September.

While targeting strong voices of dissent is part of the state’s desired culture of fear, the repression and attempted silencing of Indigenous resistance is part of the ongoing legacy of criminalization and colonization for 500 years across Turtle Island.

According to Indigenous supporters of Ryan “Ryan has been strong in his denouncements of injustice and has spoken out without fear. He is honest, humble and respectful toward his family and people around him. He has also honoured his role as a man in the community by standing beside Indigenous women when we needed support.

As native people, our bodies and our minds are constantly under attack from the state. Their power rests on our degradation, and their violent exploitation of the land and water feeds and profits the colonization of every poor and oppressed person. There is nothing new or unusual about Indigenous people - whether Haudenoshonee or Mapuche, Anishinaabe or Palestinian - being targeted, violated and locked up under racist, classist and sexist guises of "law and order" or "justice".

We denounce the ongoing state repression of all people resisting the austerity measures which are designed to force our relations, friends and allies into enslavement to a faltering system, to assimilate those of us coerced into submission, and exterminate those of us who refuse to bend to colonial terms. Freedom for all prisoners and detainees, including the Tamil women and children still held behind the walls of a detention centre, and who are now subjected to the same four walls which face Ryan.”

Ryan appears in court again on Thursday November 4th at 9:30 am at 361 University Avenue. Ryan’s supporters are requesting people to attend court on Thursday morning to show their support for Ryan and for all who are being targeted by the state.

For more information please contact:
thesheelephant@yahoo.com
or
mcorbiere@hotmail.com
or
hwalia8@gmail.com

ryan rainville is going to court on tuesday, october 26 to fight his detention without bail.

from the folks at community solidarity network:

On Tuesday October 26, Ryan Rainville will be appearing in Ontario Superior Court at 361 University at 10am to fight his detention without bail. Ryan has been imprisoned since August 5 when he was arrested at his home in Waterloo. His bail was denied in September.

Ryan has been targeted as an Indigenous Sovereigntist from the Sakimay Nation, and charged with allegations stemming from June demonstrations against the g20 in Toronto. The repression and attempted silencing of Indigenous resistance and allies has been an ongoing theme in the criminalisation of dissent in the wake of the g20, just as the targeting of Indigenous lands and nations is part of the g20 agenda and an inherent part of exploitative capitalist economy.

Ryan’s supporters are requesting people to attend court on Tuesday morning to show their support for Ryan and for all who are being targeted by the state.

Ryan Rainville: a former Calgary resident is being detained in Ontario on G20-realted charges.

From peaceculture.org:

In collaboration with Waterloo regional police, Toronto cops arrested Indigenous Rights advocate, Ryan Rainville for allegedly causing mischief over $5000 and for assaulting a police officer during the convergence against the G20 summit of so-called world leaders.

The police told Ryan's roommate that he was being taken to Division 52 in Toronto and would be in room 206-F at the court at 2201 Finch St after 2pm. Rainville, usually a Toronto resident, was living with friends in Waterloo after being released from 6 days jailing on other political, G20 related charges.

When Rainville asked the plainclothes cops "with what did I assault someone with?" adding the comment "I've never hit a police officer." The reply made things clear: you did not assault with "a conventional weapon."

A close friend of Rainville described him as a "deeply thoughtful intellectual and committed advocate for the rights of First Nations People." One roommate noted that the last thing Ryan did before being taken away was call his mother, then his wife, describing him as "a very caring individual."

Ryan is being charge with assaulting a police officer with a weapon, mischief over 5,000, Intimidation of Justice System Participant by Violence and Failing to comply with undertaking. They later added two more counts of Mischief, and disguise with violent intent. Ryan is pleading not guilty to all charges, and because every surety that he presented to the courts were unsatisfactory, Ryan was denied bail and will remain incarcerated until his trial which may be up to a year. If you wish to write the address is:

Ryan Rainville
Range 10 D
Maplehurst Complex
PO Box 10
661 Martin St.
Milton, ON
L9T 2Y3

lily phan, who attempted to pie alberta premier ed stelmach at his 2008 stampede breakfast, has been sentenced to the now-standard 30 days.

lily offered no apologies to and said she was glad her actions have sparked discussions on homelessness and poverty in calgary.

lily will be serving her time on weekends despite her request to do her time continuously.

pie pair member lily will be sentenced on monday august 31 in calgary for having attempted to pie alberta premier ed stelmach.

those who wish to come support lily are invited to attend at room 1005 of the calgary court house at 2 pm on monday august, 31.

abc calgary wishes lily the best of luck!

mikhail miller is an anti-fascist activist detained by police and issued with nearly $900 in bylaw offence tickets for his participation in the march 21, 2009, anti-racist action confrontation of the aryan guard.

background
on march 21, 2009, approximately 500 anti-racist activists confronted forty members of the neo-nazi gang the aryan guard in downtown calgary. after the aryan guard had been whisked away to safety by the police in taxpayer-funded buses and the anti-racist crowd was dispersing, the calgary police detained anti-racist demonstrator mikhail miller and issued him with $887 in bylaw offence tickets for various alleged infractions.

it is common practice in calgary for the police to harass demonstrators with bylaw tickets, especially since the passing of the "boorish behaviour" bylaw which outlaws such activities as spitting, loitering and standing on public structures such as park benches.

mikhail has indicated he intends to fight the tickets.

abc calgary supports mikhail but does not speak for or issue statements on his behalf.

the splitting the sky defense effort is a campaign to provide financial support to the splitting the sky support team.

background
on march 17, 2009, splitting the sky, also known as john boncore, was arrested in calgary while attempting to serve former president george w. bush with an arrest warrant for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

splitting the sky was charged with "obstructing a peace officer" and was remanded over night before being released on a $500 surety. splitting the sky intends to fight the charges laid against him and asserts that under international law, any canadian citizen is permitted to affect a citizen's arrest against any war criminal on canadian soil, including george w. bush.

about splitting the sky
splitting the sky is a first nations activist of long pedigree and is most well known for his involvement in the 1971 prisoner uprising in attica state prison and his prominent position in the gustafson lake standoff in 1995.

more information about splitting the sky can be found on his wikipedia entry. splitting the sky maintains a blog detailing updates on his case and activism.

abc calgary's involvement
abc calgary will be making an initial cash contribution from our "war chest" fund to splitting the sky's support group. further fundraising efforts may be initiated as needed.

abc calgary supports splitting the sky but does not speak for or issue statements on his behalf.

from ipsm.com:

On Thursday December 4th a Quebec judge sentenced Barriere Lake Acting Chief Benjamin Nottaway to forty-five days in jail, in addition to fifteen already served in pre-trial detention, for participating in peaceful blockades intended to draw attention to violations of Barriere Lake's rights by the Canadian and Quebec governments.

Barriere Lake has been demanding that Canada and Quebec honour signed agreements and that Canada appoint an observer to witness and respect the outcome of a new leadership selection in accordance with Barriere Lake's Customary Governance Code.

"It's shameful that the government of Quebec would rather throw me in jail than fulfill their legal obligations by implementing signed agreements," said Acting Chief Nottaway, a father of six who passed his twenty-eighth birthday in jail last Thursday. "Meanwhile, the Government of Canada continues to interfere in our internal affairs while trying to wash its hands of responsibility for this situation."